Sonic Mania Adventures

Development staff

Genre(s)

Directed by

Production company(s)

Written by

Music by

Overview

Studio

Broadcast

International(30 March 2018-20 December 2018)

Number of seasons

1

Number of episodes

6

Running time

Approx. 3 minutes

Original run

30 March 2018-20 December 2018

Sonic Mania Adventures is a 2D cartoon animated series released for free on YouTube over the course of 2018. The series serves as a continuation of Sonic Mania, picking up just after the ending of Sonic Forces from Classic Sonic's perspective. Each episode was uploaded in a roughly monthly schedule.

Contents

Production

Sonic Mania Adventures began production back in 2017,[2] with Tyson Hesse serving as the art director for the series. The series was first revealed at the "Gotta Go Fast" Sonic panel at SXSW in March 2018 with some concept art and a teaser trailer. There, it was revealed that the series would consist of five short animated episodes that would be released online on the official Sonic the HedgehogYouTube channel for everyone to see for free.[1] The series was to follow a monthly release, with exclusive Sonic Mania Adventures merchandise being made available in America, Australia and New Zealand at www.shop.sega.com for each episode as it goes live.[2]

It had been confirmed that the series was to feature no dialogue; every plot element would be conveyed using visual clues.

On 19 December 2018 —five months after the previous episode— a sixth episode was announced to release on 20 December 2018 as a holiday special.[3]

Plot

The series begins with Sonic the Hedgehog returning to his world from the events of Sonic Forces. Arriving on Angel Island, Sonic notices some strange holes in the ground before seeing Dr. Eggman fly by with a Capsule full of Flickies. After Sonic finds the Capsule and sets the Animals free, he is caught in a trap set by Eggman. Fortunately, Sonic lures Eggman into his own trap as well with a Chaos Emerald and escapes on his own. As Sonic is persuaded by Eggman to free him, however, he learns from Eggman's dropped handheld that the doctor is looking for the Chaos Emeralds and that he already has four of them, with two of the Emeralds still missing. Seeing that Eggman planned to take his Emerald, Sonic leaves Eggman to get blown up by his trap.

Sonic soon reunites with Tails, and together the two of them prevent Eggman from getting another Chaos Emerald. Due to his setbacks, Eggman decides to go after the Master Emerald instead and steals the Tornado, which is waiting on the beach. Meanwhile, somewhere in the woods, Knuckles is protecting the Master Emerald. Suddenly, Ray the Flying Squirrel, who is looking for his friend, Mighty the Armadillo, approaches Knuckles to ask him if he had seen his friend. After a brief misunderstanding, Knuckles chucks Ray away from his location. Immediately after, Knuckles tries to protect the Master Emerald from three Badniks, but while he is doing so, the Master Emerald is sneakily stolen by Eggman, who uses the Tornado to fool Knuckles into believing that Sonic is the thief.

Not long after, Ray comes under attack by Metal Sonic, but is saved at the last possible moment by the sudden appearance of Mighty. Detecting the last missing Chaos Emerald in Mighty's possession, Metal Sonic forces Mighty to give it up in return for Ray's safety. With the last missing Chaos Emerald in its possession, Metal Sonic heads towards Eggman's base on Angel Island. At the same time, Ray spots Sonic and Tails, as well as Knuckles, heading towards the base too, prompting him and Mighty to join the final showdown.

Just as Sonic and Tails arrive inside Eggman's base, Metal Sonic steals their two Chaos Emeralds. Eggman then gives his five Chaos Emeralds to Metal Sonic, which was his plan all along. With the seven Emeralds, Metal Sonic receives a massive power boost, which he uses to overpower Sonic. Fortunately for Sonic, Ray and Mighty arrive, and Mighty saves him. The four heroes then team up to defeat Metal Sonic. In the end, Tails uses his intellect to reject the Chaos Emeralds from Metal Sonic. However, Eggman promptly uses the Master Emerald as a substitute. Before Metal Sonic can power up however, Knuckles arrives and punches both Metal Sonic and Eggman into the distance before taking the Master Emerald with him. With nothing left to do, Sonic, Tails, Mighty and Ray close off their adventure with a picnic.

Eggman and Metal Sonic land some ways away in a wooded area. Eggman attempts to wake up Metal Sonic but the robot does not respond, causing Eggman to leave in frustration. Metal Sonic lays where he landed until winter arrives. At that time, Amy Rose trips over the snow-covered Metal Sonic. Metal Sonic, now reactivated, turns to look at her, causing Amy back away in panic. However Metal Sonic is still too broken to get up or walk. Just then a nearby palm tree begins to crack and fall, which prompts Amy to save Metal Sonic. However she still does not trust him and hits him with her hammer until she realizes he cannot fight back. Amy, feeling sorry for Metal Sonic, picks him up and takes him back to Eggman's lair. She dresses him up with a bow and a flower before ringing on Eggman's doorbell and hiding behind a rock. Eggman, thinking Metal Sonic has come home to mend things over, takes him back inside. Amy feels good about reuniting the pair but Sonic, who was standing next to her the entire time, is more skeptical. Amy simply gives Sonic a flower before running off.

Characters

Sonic the Hedgehog – A blue hedgehog and the titular protagonist of Sonic Mania Adventures. Having just returned from his latest adventure, Sonic finds himself once again on the move to stop the evil plans of Dr. Eggman.

Dr. Eggman – An evil human scientist and Sonic's archnemesis. While Sonic was gone, Eggman has been busy being up to his old tricks. This time, he is cooking up an unknown scheme that involves the Chaos Emeralds and the Master Emerald.

List of episodes

Sonic has just arrived back after the events of Sonic Mania and Sonic Forces, but something is already amiss. What are the huge holes being dug in the ground? And why is Eggman already capturing more animals? The story begins here, with the first of five parts in: "Sonic Returns"!

Miles “Tails” Prower, at your service! When Sonic shows up to let Tails know about Dr. Eggman’s newest plot, a tremor rocks the beach. As some mysteries are solved and new ones begin, Sonic will learn that to succeed, sometimes all you need is a helping hand.

Knuckles the Echidna is the Guardian of the Master Emerald, but ever since Dr. Eggman and Sonic first appeared on Angel Island, trouble has followed. Knuckles still doesn’t fully trust Sonic, so he’s been watching over the Emerald constantly to ensure nobody – robot or hedgehog – gets their hands on it. Now, just as Knuckles finds a safe location, a mysterious figure appears in the shadows…

Ray the Flying Squirrel has been looking for his best friend, Mighty the Armadillo, but he can’t find him anywhere! As he continues his search, he hears something nearby. Could this finally be Mighty, or is it something far more dangerous?

The decisive battle looms. With the fate of the Chaos Emeralds at stake, it’s up to Sonic, Tails, Mighty, and Ray to unite against a superpowered Metal Sonic. It's time for Part 5 of Sonic Mania Adventures: Metal Mayhem!

Metal Sonic and Eggman crash into the jungle after being defeated. Broken, abandoned, and alone as seasons pass and the skies turn cold, a surprise appearance may change Metal Sonic's fate forever.

Complete mini-series

In addition to the serialized release, on the same day "Metal Mayhem" released a separate video titled "The Complete Mini-Series" was also uploaded. Although promoted as just the five individual episodes strung together in a single video, it actually featured animation touch-ups and additional effects on several sequences from the first four episodes, as well as some minor music differences to accommodate the edits joining some of the episodes together.

Special Remix

Sonic Mania Adventures Special Remix is a series of five remixed versions of songs featured in the series, specially remixed by Tee Lopes and Jun Senoue. The tracks have gradually been released since the start of 2019.[4]

References

↑ 2.02.1Sonic Mania Adventures: Part 1. YouTube. Sonic the Hedgehog (30 March 2018). Retrieved on 30 March 2018. “Exclusive Sonic Mania Adventures merch is available now at www.shop.sega.com , and we’ll be making new merch for each part as it goes live! The SEGA Shop is only available in the Americas, AUS, and NZ. Finally, a HUGE THANK YOU to the many people and teams who have been working hard on Sonic Mania Adventures since last year. This is just the beginning, but a great many people have poured their hearts and souls into this animation, and we hope everyone watching it will enjoy it as much as we do.”

↑.Sonic the Hedgehog on Twitter (23 January 2019). Retrieved on 4 April 2019. “Surprise! We’ve got a little musical gift for you all as we kick off 2019:
🗸 Five new special remixes of Sonic Mania Adventures tracks
🗸 Composed by @teelopesmusic
🗸 First track arrives TOMORROW!”